


Hella Sweet Tokens of My Appreciation

by JackyM



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Dorks in Love, M/M, Taakitz Week, taakitz
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-06
Updated: 2018-10-06
Packaged: 2019-07-25 19:54:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16204538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JackyM/pseuds/JackyM
Summary: Taako said he went out to get groceries. He did not get groceries. He did something waaaaaay more important, my dude.





	Hella Sweet Tokens of My Appreciation

**Author's Note:**

> SO I heard it was Taakitz Week, and I absolutely had to write something! I've had this goofy idea kicking around in my head for a few days and I didn't have a ton of time to write but I decided that this would be a really cute fic that could work for the week celebrating two really important boys who love each other!
> 
> I haven't written a Taakitz fic in forever, so I am so sorry if my characterization is rusty! These two are very fun to write, though, and this fic was a lot of fun to write!

Fantasy Chuck E. Cheese is a great place. It’s where a kid can be a kid. And where an adult can be an adult in a way that’s way more fun than usual and not have to think about doing actual adult things, like buying groceries.  
  
Taako’s phone (it’s a fantasy phone, if you open it up you’ll just find magic rocks instead of circuitry) had been buzzing for maybe the past half hour. Getting groceries generally didn’t take more than an hour for someone with their roots in the cooking world, and Kravitz had gotten concerned, as evidenced by the several text messages he left.  
  
Being a professional at skee-ball, Taako hadn’t checked his phone since it started buzzing. The last thing he wanted to do when he was on a roll using his dexterity for the only thing that mattered was break his concentration, and skee-ball was by far one of the easiest things to lose focus with. It was like making a souffle. You’ve got to keep an eye on it while it’s cooking. Because “20 to 25 minutes” doesn’t really tell you when exactly it’s going to turn slightly brown and puffy and needs to come out of the oven to be served right away.  
  
An hour and forty five minutes and over 200 tickets later, Taako finally checked his phone, which had a lockscreen boasting a lot of concerned texts.  
  
  
  
_Are you finding everything okay, babe? It usually doesn’t take you this long. Oh, also, do you think you can pick up extra salmon treats for the cats? I think that they would really appreciate it if you did. <3 _  
  
_No, really, are you okay, Taako?_  
  
_Okay, now it’s been over an hour and a half. Taako, what’s going on?_  
  
_Taako, I’m getting bored now. Don’t make me start Season 2 of Fantasy Nailed It without you, I don’t want to do that. </3 _  
  
_As soon as you can, please call me. I’m worried, that’s all. Is it just really busy there today?_  
  
  
  
The thing about caring about someone very deeply is that it makes your heart flutter seeing how much they care about you and your wellbeing, and that thoughts of you drift into their mind even when you’re not around. But at the same time, it stings to see them worried, and those two emotions coalesce into something called love that makes you thumb a call to them. The relieved sigh of Kravitz on the ender end made Taako smile. He would’ve said that, but nah, this was Fantasy Chuck E. Cheese, the absolute pinnacle of goofs.  
  
“Ohhhhh, relieved, are we?”  
  
Taako’s lips quirked a smile at Kravitz’s gentle breathy laugh and reply.  
  
“Well, yeah. Anything could have happened.”  
  
“My dude, you do realize that if I died that would be like, a non-issue, right?”  
  
“Maybe, but I still worry. I can worry, right?”  
  
“I would prefer you really dramatically show up to wherever I am and grab the PA mic and loudly ask if I’m doing okay, actually. The most elaborate and theatrical way to ask if I’m okay. With your scythe. And your work cape.”  
  
“Which one? The one with the feathers and raven skeletons?”  
  
“Don’t be an idiot. Of course the one with the feathers and raven skeletons. This is real drama hours with Kravitz. Going all-in to do something you literally could have just texted me over. That’s how people dating Taako do. It’s on the other side of the kissing and cuddling privileges.”  
  
“I’ll keep that in mind. Where are you, by the way? It sounds kind of loud wherever you are.”  
  
“Getting groceries. Duh.”  
  
“It’s awfully loud at the grocery store.”  
  
“Sometimes the grocery store just be like that, Danny Kravito. I can’t do anything about that.”  
  
The sound of the skee-ball being thrown into the one of the cups resonated a little more loudly than Taako wanted over the phone. The problem with being a secret skee-ball champion is that the beautiful sound of a skee-ball firmly landing into the 10,000-point cup is that it’s way louder than you think it should be.  
  
The loud music that plays upon hitting the direct center doesn’t help masquerade anything either.  
  
“Okay,” came Kravitz’s voice, a little less concerned now, “I think I might know where you are right now.”  
  
“The grocery store.”  
  
“Taako, I literally just heard you using a skee-ball machine.”  
  
“That was a grocery cart.”  
  
“What do you think a grocery cart sounds like?"  
  
“Like that sound you just heard.”  
  
“The sound that was pretty clearly a skee-ball machine?”  
  
“Babe. Listen. Listen. How dare you. I am at the grocery store. Buying groceries.”  
  
“Taako, I know what a skee-ball machine sounds like. You’ve shown me how good you are at playing skee-ball before. We didn’t leave Fantasy Dave and Buster’s until they told you that you had to leave because you were definitely cheating somehow.”  
  
“Which I wasn’t. That whole situation was horseshit. Horseshit. They don’t recognize talent. That was the most insulting thing that has ever happened to me. They said that getting over 600,000 points in less than twenty minutes was clearly the result of some sort of magic. And like, it was some sort of magic. The magic of being naturally amazing at throwing balls into tiny little cups. That was a real big tarnish to the name of Taako, you know, from TV.”  
  
“I know. Do you want me to reap them for you?”  
  
“I shouldn’t have to ask you to do things like that, Skeletor. You should just do it.”  
  
“Noted,” said Kravitz, with that gentle heart-melting laugh again, “but seriously, Taako, where are you right now? Or, what place with a skee-ball machine that isn’t Fantasy Dave and Buster’s are you in right now?”  
  
“A place that is way better than Fantasy Dave and Buster’s. A place with real class. Like, a ridiculous amount of class, more class than any given Fantasy Dave and Buster’s could hope to achieve.”  
  
“I am quite sure that it’s not difficult to achieve higher levels of class than Fantasy Dave and Buster’s. Given their track record with talented people, I mean.”  
  
“That is like, so true. But this place has always been known for its class.”  
  
“Is it Fantasy Chuck E. Cheese?”  
  
“Yes, it is possible that the place is Fantasy Chuck E. Cheese. The place where a kid can be a kid. With class.”  
  
“Oh, god, Taako. You...you didn’t go to the grocery store at all, did you?”  
  
“By the time I am done lighting up these skee-ball machines like a sky full of fireworks, I will have enough tickets to exchange in like, the entire prize stand.”  
  
“Isn’t the prize stand full of like, novelty Tootsie Rolls and giant Pixie Stix, at least in terms of actual food available?”  
  
“Yes?”  
  
“Taako, that is not groceries. That is several cavities.”  
  
“Not everyone needs to take their face skin off for work! Some of us actually wear our skin to work like normal, living people.”  
  
“How...how do you think...never mind. Taako, did you actually go to the grocery store, or should I go out and get them?”  
  
“I think you should actually not do that and come over here so I can show you how good I am at skee-ball even when it is with a machine very clearly designed for the smallest of boys.”  
  
“We need food. And the cats need treats.”  
  
“Not as much as I need you over here right now, my cold and clammy Kravitz.”  
  
“Well, when you put it that way,” said Kravitz, with a smile Taako could hear over the phone, “I suppose I’ll take a detour on the way to the supermarket."

* * *

Sneaking up on Taako was probably difficult to do. Sneaking up on elves was difficult. Their ears are so sensitive, and twitch and swivel at the sound of anything that sound remotely strange or familiar. Really, Kravitz found it cute. The way one of Taako’s ears slightly swiveled backwards while Taako focused resolutely on Token Toss was amazing.

  
Nonetheless, Kravitz did his best to sneak up behind Taako and wrap his arms around him. Taako had long gotten used to his cold embrace, and given the heat of the place they were in, Taako actually found himself leaning into Kravitz’s icy chest.  
  
“Hey there, you,” said Kravitz, resting his head on top of Taako’s and bringing his hands to Taako’s stomach and squeezing him there.  
  
“Mmm,” mumbled Taako, closing his eyes and relaxing his ears, “don’t make me feel so relaxed I totally wang Token Toss.”  
  
“Is it really hard to play this game, though? It looks like a machine that’s just shooting tokens at random speeds.”  
  
“Not if you concentrate and really, really hope that the token flies really far.”  
  
“I don’t think that’s how it works.”  
  
“It’s how it works if you’re not a coward and a total nerd.”  
  
“Very big talk for someone who’s a professional in skee-ball and wants everyone to know that.”  
  
“That is just a rare talent, my man,” said Taako, spinning around to hold Kravitz’s face in his hands. Kravitz leaned his face into Taako’s hands, feeling the warmth there and enjoying that aspect of Taako’s embrace.  
  
They stayed like that for a few moments, cold against warm, before Taako felt Kravitz’s cod lips pressing into his own, molding with them delicately. With a pleasant “hmmm” Taako reciprocated the action. He shuddered at the sensation of Kravitz’s gently pointed teeth grazing into his lips. Not sharp enough to cause bleeding, but sharp enough to stoke a fire in Taako’s chest. His hands traveled down Kravitz’s back and rested on his hips, and Kravitz’s cool hands traveled up to Taako’s shoulders. Taako was pressed against the Token Toss machine, and it wasn’t comfortable, but he hardly minded. Maybe that’s just how good of a kisser Kravitz was. He could make even the most uncomfortable seating position feel like a loveseat.  
  
“Hey,” breathed Kravitz, softly pulling away from Taako, “weren’t you going to show me how good you are at skee-ball or something?”  
  
“My professional skill at skee-ball can wait if we’re gonna be doing some smooching, Kravitz. This is a dream.”  
  
“Oh, you’re such a damn card,” mumbled Kravitz, burying his nose into Taako’s hair, “and you make me absolutely crazy, did you know that?”  
  
“I make everyone go absolutely crazy. It’s called char-isma.”  
  
“Can you make me go crazier? I really want to see how good you are at skee-ball here.”  
  
“You want me to get kicked out of here, too?” Taako lifted an eyebrow.  
  
“Hey, if they’re super classy, they won’t do that.”  
  
“No, it sounds like you want me to get kicked out of the classiest place there is, the place where a kid can be a kid. Like a bad boy. How dare you.”  
  
“I mean, they didn’t kick you out earlier, right?”  
  
“That’s true, they didn’t. Are you any good at skee-ball? Maybe if we take turns and they see someone who’s about as good at skee-ball as a mobile pinata, they’ll be less willing to kick me out for cheating the system. Supposedly. I have nothing but raw talent.”  
  
“I can’t’ say I’m particularly good at skee-ball, no. Are you willing to give up your reputation as a professional by letting the whole world know that you’re this in love with someone who’s anything but a professional, though?”  
  
“For you,” said Taako, standing up on his tiptoes to plant a kiss on Kravitz’s cheek, “I would risk way more than just my reputation.”

* * *

Kravitz was spectacularly bad at skee-ball. Even with Taako’s assistance (which, to be frank, was mostly just “throw better”), he managed to get 500 points at a time, and this was then his aim wasn’t completely outside the cups entirely.  
  
Taako leaned against Kravitz, looking up at him with a softly amused expression, because Kravitz looked mildly irritated with how skee-ball was much harder than Taako made it look. He always squinted and ground his teeth together when he was frustrated, which was intimidating when his face was a skeleton and adorable when his face had skin. It was amazing, really, how much people express themselves when they feel comfortable.  
  
Kravitz must have noticed Taako’s staring, because his eyes drifted downwards and locked with Taako’s. And god, his expression. It was one he didn’t see on Taako too often. A lot of the time his look was vacant, distant, sort of like the way a cat looks when perched in a windowsill. But right now, in the skee-ball machine area in Fantasy Chuck E Cheese, of all places, he had a countenance that made Kravitz’s heart melt. It was soft, warm, glowing, almost. It was a look that said so much without actually saying anything at all. Kravitz’s gaze softened and he wrapped an arm around Taako, rubbing his arm up and down.  
  
Taako’s eyes drifted to the ticket dispenser, and he smiled. Kravitz followed his gaze, quizzically.  
  
“Looks like you won us a whole four tickets. Even the machine felt badly for you.”  
  
“I hope not. That would be seriously embarrassing.”  
  
“Maybe it’s just that easy to fall in love with you. That or it fears for its life. Can you reap machines? You can reap machines, right?”  
  
“If they have a soul, sure. But I’m pretty sure these don’t. I also don’t think they’re close to dying from whatever machines usually die from.”  
  
“You should do it anyways. Show them who's boss and that they can’t just humiliate you like this. Just pull that sharp death weapon out and see if you can take its soul.”  
  
“Taako, no, I’m not going to do that. Then I think we’ll definitely get kicked out.”  
  
“Wow. Jeez. So boring. You’re such a soft-boy, babe. If we’re stuck in here, then, we should get like, groceries.”  
  
“Taako, you can’t seriously mean that anything here counts as groceries.”  
  
“It’s food that you buy outside of your house and then bring home to eat later. That’s groceries. I can’t believe you don’t even know what groceries are.”  
  
“I do know what they are, and it is definitely not that. By that logic, takeout is groceries.”  
  
“Yes? They are? You’re just stating facts, my man.”  
  
“Taako, I am making a point.”  
  
“I am very sure that you’re not, actually.”  
  
“Come here,” sighed Kravitz, defeated, but not in a bad way, “I love you.”  
  
Taako inhaled, softly, and buried his head into Kravitz’s chest. So cold, like death. So familiar, so lively, so lovable. Was death really all that bad? Taako didn’t think so.  
  
“I love you too.”

* * *

They did get kicked out of the classiest place that exists. The place where a kid can be a kid and where an adult can be an adult in a way that’s way more fun than usual and not have to think about doing actual adult things. Not because Taako was suspected of cheating at skee-ball, but because Kravitz had scared about twenty patrons because he absolutely could not keep his skin on when those animatronics were out. He sensed some kind of undead energy, and it was some of the most malign undead energy he had ever sensed in his life. The most horrifying thing about the whole situation, really, was that Kravitz was considered the most terrifying being there when one of the animatronics literally called out one patron by name and told them about how horrible their 49th birthday was going to be, there was going to be so much bloodshed, oh god, so much bloodshed.  
  
After a few moments of standing there in a vortex of red and black energy, an absolute symbol of death and pestilence, loudly asking why nobody else was as scared as he was. One of the staff members handed Taako a pizza box, saying you’re not allowed to do any soul tampering in here, and then suggested that they head out.  
  
“I still think it was hot,” purred Taako, nudging Kravitz with his hip, “I think everyone in there was incredibly close-minded. They don’t know true beauty and power when they see it.”  
  
“I overreacted a bit,” Kravitz said, sheepishly, the dark skin on his face coloring, “but seriously, that was horrifying. I think there’s some kind of dark magic being used to animate the machines there. Maybe some kind of vengeful spirit. The fact that this place is advertised as a place that’s child-friendly is entirely beyond me.”  
  
“It’s a horrifying nightmare nest that was laid by some scary goose. I just go there because they’re the only place that doesn’t think I cheat at skee-ball. Or, they were. I don't think we can go there anymore. Thanks for that, Cravat.”  
  
“Look, I don’t really stand by getting that angry about things for almost no reason, but I sort of feel like that was deserved. There is no way those are not souls being bound into this world through some kind of soulbinding magic that won’t let them pass away.”  
  
“So when you think about it, it’s really Fantasy Chuck E. Cheese’s fault for not letting you do your job.”  
  
“Yes, precisely.”  
  
“Fucking valid, my dude.”  
  
“Aww,” said Kravitz, squeezing Taako’s hand, “That’s sweet of you to say. I had fun. And I had no idea how your skill at skee-ball extends to Token Toss. Which I before today thought was all luck-based.”  
  
“Taako told you so.”  
  
“Yes, he did. And he won us a lot of tickets. Which reminds me, I still think we spent too many tickets on the giant Pixie Stix. What are we going to do with these?”  
  
“Eat them.”  
  
“In how long a timespan? We got a whole tube of them.”  
  
“Over the course of a night, if we’re living our lives right.”  
  
“And the rubber lizards? Why’d we get so many?”  
  
“To start a family, obviously.”  
  
“No, like, really. What are we going to do with them?”  
  
“Put them in the foyer in a giant transparent vase so that when people come into our home, they’ll be like, holy shit, those are some sweet rubber lizards. There’s a whole family of rubber lizards in there, hot diggity shit. This is a pinnacle of interior design.”  
  
“You know, that doesn’t sound like a particularly bad idea.”  
  
“Yeah. It’ll really give the foyer a real sense of fung shui. That’s what that is, right?”  
  
“You’re ridiculous,” sighed Kravitz, shaking his head and smiling, “and yes, I believe so.”  
  
“By ridiculous, you mean a professional at skee-ball and dazzlingly handsome?"  
  
“Yes,” said Kravitz, quickly planting a kiss right between Taako’s eyes, making him giggle, “I mean exactly that.”


End file.
